After losing to the USA in their opening match in what was their easiest match on paper, not many gave the Ghanaian national team – the ‘Black Stars’ any chance of obtaining a result against the mighty Germans who had walloped Portugal 4-0 in their previous match but the boys from Ghana were having none of that, as they played their part in the best match of the 2014 World Cup so far, coming from a goal down to take a 2-1 lead before being pegged back by Germany and settling for a draw which keeps their hopes of qualification for the second round alive.

The first half was a hugely entertaining affair even though there were no goals scored, as both teams couldn’t find a way past each other. Germany looked the more threatening side but Ghana mostly restricted their celebrated opponents to half chances and blocked shots.

It looked like all the Ghanaian good work would come undone when six minutes after the restart, Mario Gotze scored after a cross from Thomas Muller. However, going behind only served to energise the Black Stars as they rose to find power and full of adrenaline, they poured forward, unleashing a stunning assault that left the Germans reeling. Within three minutes after going behind, the Black Stars had equalized through an Andre Ayew header and nine minutes later, they had taken the lead when Sulley Muntari pounced on a loose ball and slipped an inch-perfect ball through for Asamoah Gyan, who fired firmly beyond German goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer to equal Roger Milla’s ‘highest scoring African at the world cup’ record with five goals.

Andre Ayew

With Ghana now fully dominant, they had the chance to inflict further misery on their opponents and seal victory with a third goal but Jordan Ayew didn’t pass to his team-mates who were better positioned. Against such illustrious opponents, one always felt Ghana would be made to pay for that miss – and they did, as Miroslav Klose came off the bench to score the equaliser.

Boateng brothers, Kevin-Prince & Derek faced off against each other

In the end, neither team deserved to lose but both might have had more than a point and Ghana must now beat Portugal and hope that the Germans also triumph over the USA in their respective final group matches so as to qualify for the second round.

***Damilola Orehin is a freelance creative writer with interesting opinions and analysis of sports, entertainment and social issues. He has written on several established print and online platforms and he showcases his deep-rooted passion for a wide variety of sports at tecmosports.blogspot.com.